TORONTO – Goldcorp Inc (G.TO) agreed to sell its Los Filos mine in Mexico to Leagold Mining Corp LMCh.V in a deal valued at $438 million on Thursday, as the world’s No. 3 gold miner by market value focuses more squarely on core assets.

Goldcorp, which put Los Filos on the block last year under a push to prioritize its biggest and best mines, said the transaction will help it grow net asset value per share and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

Under the transaction, Vancouver-based Goldcorp will get $279 million in cash, $71 million in Leagold shares and tax receivables worth about $88 million. Shares of Goldcorp, which separately announced the $18 million cash sale of its Cerro Blanco project in Guatemala to Bluestone Resources (BSR.V) on Wednesday, nudged about 1 percent higher on Toronto and New York exchanges at mid-session Thursday.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Stephen Walker said the sale price broadly matched his net asset value estimate of $462 million in a note to clients. Los Filos has just a little over two years of reserves left, but Leagold appears to be interested in its underground mining potential, said Desjardins Securities analyst Michael Parkin.

Leagold said its executives, who developed Endeavour Mining (EDV.TO) into a west African bullion producer, want to replicate that buy and build strategy in Latin America.